Sounds like we all know what we need to do! I have stayed on track today so I almost have one on plan day under my belt.

Well done! You're doing way better than me! (Curse those mint chocolates!)

Great idea! I also need to get back to basics.

1. Eat home cooked meals (breakfast and lunch and dinner) 5 days a week
2. Exercise 5 times a week- it can be a brisk walk in the neighborhood, stationary bike while I watch t.v. or hiking in the park.
3. Take one class a week (I have identified drop-in belly dancing and yoga classes that will fit in my schedule and low skill level)
4. Attend nonfood related events like poetry readings, art openings, and other cultural events.
5. Visit the spa for a facial or pedicure at least once a month (this is an attempt to find nonfood ways to pampering and self soothing)

In 2011 I am looking forward to taking better care of myself and creating a life that looks beyond my next meal.

Great thread, and reminder! Happy New year all!

I've also been off track these last few weeks. I didn't realize the holidays would hit me as much as they did, but today is a new day. I finally managed to get back to the gym after a 2 week hiatus. This week is the week to get back on track overall. Enough drinks for another year

1. Start tracking everything I eat and stay on plan.
2. Exercise at least five days a week.
3. Get back to drinking at least 6 glasses of water.
4. Eat more fruit and salads.
5. Eat more protein and less carbs
6. Get up at the same time everyday and get back into routine.

One of my favorite quotes..
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” ~Winston Churchill

I didn't do so well over the holidays - not only were there holidays, but I had fourth surgery followed by 2 weeks of bad flu. No exercise of any kind.

Not sure what my reset ticker will say, but I might wait a few days to reset it. TOM is here now.

As for what I will do?

1) Track food - the good, the bad, and the ugly. It's really easy to not want to track your food when you know you're not eating healthy. (I ate almost nothing but ice cream for a week or more, for example, because my throat was too sore for anything solid.)

2) Exercise - did not do any in December. Much of my year was excellent and I want to pick up my habits again.

3) Renew my determination and commitment. It's commitment that sees us through all the challenges and setbacks, and it would be pretty easy for me to be discouraged right now, even though I lost an amazing amount of weight last year.

What a great thread, and what wonderful things everyone has written.

Out with the empty carbs, and in with healthy eating!!!

I will:
Not beat myself up over the Holiday lapse
Journal every bite and stay on plan, being gentle to myself and my family.
Exercise to the best of my ability, even if it is slow walking and stretching(darn torn meniscus).
Drink at least 8 glasses of water.
focus on colorful veggies, salads, low gycemic fruit, lean proteins and healthy fats.
Limit grains, and those must be minimally processed
Get up at the same time everyday and get back into routine. (YES!!!)

Oh, and make sure I visit 3FC every day for at least five minutes, it makes a big difference to my attitude, thanks to the wonderful inspirational folks here.

What a great thread. A plan of attack?! Which comes for me with both a question mark and an explanation mark. I balk at plans. I balk at commitment. I have gained 20 lbs. Yep I have. And I want and need to do something. Because the reality is if I don't the scale will continue to rise and I will gain all the weight plus more back.
So what is my plan of attack? I am sitting here staring at the computer screen and typing away...hoping something will come to me. But it isn't coming to me. I feel like I need to have some profound statement for my plan of attack. Can I have a plan for a plan of attack?
There aren't any answers coming. I really don't know what to do. Everyone has great ideas. I know I can take from those ideas. And I know I don't want anyone to tell me what to do. I feel like such a baby in this weight loss journey. A baby as in not knowing what to do...yet with a teenage mindset of I want to do it my way and screw you. The ultimate questions: "What exactly is my way?" "Does my way work?" Those questions can be turned into "What is my plan of attack?"

Here it goes from the perspective of "doing it my way":

Do what I want when I want.
Think about eating healthy.
Buy healthy foods at store and then throw them away when they get rotten from not eating them.
Buy another book about being healthy.
Say I am trying to eat healthy.
Put head in sand. (oh, sand frozen, can't do this one)

Okay. I am sitting here thinking. I want to throw up my hands and say I don't know what to do. BUT I really don't want anyone to tell me what to do. My way of eating what I want and doing what I want when I want does not work. I said it. It does not work. I need a plan. OMG I can't believe I said it. I need a plan.

*deep breath* I need a plan. Period.

Okay. All right. I need a plan. Yes, I need a plan. Can I buy a book called "I need a plan?" Probably...but that isn't what I need. I need to STOP and make a plan.

Day One, Today's Plan

+ eat a piece of fruit
+ eat a bowl full of fresh veggies that are in fridge
+ drink 4 glasses of water on purpose

Okay...that wasn't so hard was it? Sorry I took up so much space. I am a spaz what can I say?

Ah cathydoe,

As I was reading your post I kept thinking, "Sounds like me, sounds like me...." I am pushing myself to just do it because I will gain back all my weight if I keep eating the way I ate the past month.

It is hard to get started.

I was doing well until last night. I got a call telling me that my father's biopsy showed cancer. I was expecting that news and thought that I was prepared but...... I headed for the kitchen. Fortunately, all the junk was gone so I did not do too much damage, about 300 extra calories. If all the Christmas food had still been in the kitchen I probably would have eaten about 3000 extra calories.

Today I am telling myself that gaining weight will not help the situation and would actually hurt it. On plan so far today but am hanging by my fingertips.

Oh, Cheryl. I am so sorry about your dad.

I'm one of those new people you were kindly thinking about when you started this thread. And it has helped me already. So don't hang on by your fingertips, take my hand and I will hold you up for a little while.

Think of your good food and water as secret weapons that will keep you strong for your dad. Every time you eat a salad instead of a piece of cake, you are keeping yourself in top fighting form so he can lean on you.

And trust me, if that cake looks too appealing and you start to reach for it, that hand of mine will give yours a gentle little tap: "Back away from the carbs, Cheryl....."

Seriously, let us know if we can help.

cathydoe: Here it goes from the perspective of "doing it my way":

Do what I want when I want.
Think about eating healthy.
Buy healthy foods at store and then throw them away when they get rotten from not eating them.
Buy another book about being healthy.
Say I am trying to eat healthy.
Put head in sand. (oh, sand frozen, can't do this one)

OMG! I have a twin!! But she is so witty!

Would it help if you knew that you didn't have to commit to any one plan for the rest of your life --- or the rest of the month? It's like the best part of dating: when the oh-so-deep zen diet and meditation plan with the soulful eyes starts to wear on you, then change it out for that really passionate Latin plan where you eat cook and eat zesty meals that involve all your senses, dance any darn time the mood strikes and let your emotions be known to all and sundry. There can be a week of the surfer dude diet and a week of the manly Marine diet, etc.

I have no idea what I'm talking about, but man! did you strike a chord.

Thanks for this thread. I've been off plan for a long, long time. My simple little plan for the rest of this week is:

Quit feeding my face due to stress and some type of punishment for not exercising
Stop eating when full (done for right now! let cat lick bowl so I won't go back for seconds)
get through the next 2 days of full-time and part-time job
drink 64 oz water every day
eat at least 1 vegetable or 1 apple per day
get rid of the perfectionist diet viewpoint!